By Samantha Lee, CHCP Member

On the evening of January 28th, 170 CHCP members and their guests gathered at the China Stix Restaurant in Santa Clara for CHCP's annual membership dinner—a tradition that continues to deepen bonds, honor heritage, and spotlight the breadth of Chinese American history and activity in the South Bay. 

As the banquet room filled, the vibrant opening act paraded into the spotlight—Hoong the Dragon, accompanied by the rhythmic steps of the SJSU Lion Dance Team, announcing the arrival of the Year of the Fire Horse with a ceremonial flourish. Representatives from SDCAP (Student Docent Cultural Ambassador Program) then took the mic to share the symbolic meanings of the Year of the Horse—resilience and endurance against headwinds to forge new paths. 

As MC Edith Gong transitioned the crowd into the formal business portion of the evening, the atmosphere remained celebratory. The 2025 Year-in-Review by outgoing Co-President Dr. Arthur Jue offered a moving snapshot of the year’s many accomplishments: the WWII Exhibit, the Marysville Pioneer Families Day, Thomas Foon Chew Day, and many outreach events across Santa Clara and San Jose. With over 50 events held, the breadth of CHCP’s outreach is staggering. A heartfelt museum update from Governing Trustee Anita Kwock reminded guests of CHCP’s anchor: the Chinese American Historical Museum (CAHM), which continues to serve as both a building and a site of learning, open Saturdays 12-3:30 pm and by appointment. Next came the installation of CHCP’s 2026 Directors, Trustees, and Advisory Board Members with Hon. Patrick Kwok administering the oath. This moment was particularly poignant as CHCP prepares to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the Chinese American Historical Museum in the coming year. Recognition was also paid to Connie Young Yu, recipient of the American Association for State and Local History’s Award of Excellence—an honor decades in the making, with her work remaining a cornerstone of CHCP’s offering.

As trays of pork, stir-fried greens, honey walnut shrimp, and fragrant rice were brought to the tables, a looping visual recap of 2025 photo highlights played with snapshots of outreach events, museum tours, student-led programs, and community milestones. Then the live musical entertainment began with performances by young artists on the guzheng, piano, pipa, and guitar.

President Kimberly Eng Lee shared an inspiring vision for 2026, emphasizing community growth, digital programs, museum enhancements, and Chinese Americans’ contributions to civil rights, generating excitement and collective pride. 

Then the evening shifted into an unexpected twist of theatrical delight when a mahjong table appeared center stage, and the audience was treated to the debut of “Mahjong Mamas at the Senior Center,” a comedy starring Gerrye Wong, CHCP Co-Founder and tireless community matriarch. The skit offered more than laughs—it offered a reflection of life’s aging rituals and communal bonds. Guests described the moment as “a revelation,” “gutsy,” and even “CHCP’s Academy Awards-worthy.” Thoughtfully scripted, the skit’s crisp timing and humor were sharpened by shared lived experience.

And just when the audience thought the evening had reached its peak, it crescendoed in a heartfelt sing-along led by Advisory Board Member, Pinki Fung. The lyrics of “Gong Xi Gong Xi” rang through the room, with every guest joining in harmony. 

The final stretch of the evening featured a flurry of door prize drawings and giveaways donated by the CHCP Board and Advisory members. The banquet concluded with closing remarks and thanks to all attending members, volunteers, performers, and partners. Collective photographs immortalized the assembled Directors, Trustees, Advisory Board, and the ever-essential SDCAP students.

Flower farms, particularly those growing chrysanthemums (pictured here at the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm), played a vital role in the local economy through the mid-20th century. | Andrew Brodhead

The following is an excerpt from the 1/21/26 Stanford Report:

By Solveig Knapstad

Through the Forgotten Flowers initiative, Stanford researchers and local organizations are uncovering how small farms on university lands shaped the Bay Area’s flower industry from the 1890s onward.

While conducting research on Stanford land leases, University Archaeologist Laura Jones made a fascinating discovery: The Bay Area’s cut flower industry got its start on the Farm.

“I was looking into a university practice that began with Jane Stanford leasing small farms to earn income for the university. One of my colleagues gave me a map of Stanford from the 1950s that showed leases to flower growers, most of whom were Asian American,” she said. “They were growing flowers where the shopping center is today, where the research park is today, and where Escondido Village is today. It was amazing how many farms there were in places that are unrecognizable as such now.”

A forgotten crop

One of the farms Jones came across belonged to a Chinese American flower grower in Palo Alto whose son, George Chin, is now one of the founding directors of the Chinatown History and Culture Association.

According to Chin, many Bay Area flower farmers got their start on the Stanford campus, but their stories have been overlooked and underdocumented in historical accounts of the region – something Jones has found as well.

“When we talk about the history of agriculture in the Bay Area,” Jones said, “there’s a lot of literature about orchards and a bit on wineries, but there’s not much about flower growing, which was huge in the first half of the 20th century.”

Jones, the executive director of Stanford Heritage Services, which stewards the university’s cultural and biological land-based resources, is working with Chin and other community organizations including the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project and the Bay Area Chrysanthemum Growers Association on the Forgotten Flowers project, an effort to preserve the legacies of the Asian American flower growers who leased Stanford lands between the years of 1890-1960. These farms produced crops, including chrysanthemums, that played a vital role in the region’s economy before dwindling in the late 1900s due to factors including urbanization, lower-cost imports, and the burgeoning technology scene.

Stanford’s Office of Community Engagement is providing support for the project.

“We’re learning more about the distribution of agriculture in the Bay Area and this really important moment in Chinese American and Japanese American history, which is also tied in some ways to U.S. immigration and other land policies – it was illegal for a period of time in some cities for Asians to own land,” said Jones. “So if you couldn’t buy land, it was much easier to rent a small acreage and farm it really intensively with flowers.”

Mapping the Bay Area

One of the main outcomes of the project will be a digital exhibit that lets users explore a map of historical data supplemented by family interviews – a sprawling interactive archive of historical material chronicling the stories and locations of flower growers across the Bay Area.

English and American studies major Kaylee Chan is an undergraduate research intern on the project, where her primary focus has been exploring historical archives from the 19th through 20th centuries and compiling photos, maps, and written records to display on the interactive map she’s developing.

“It’s so important for students to have opportunities to explore local history and to engage in cultural, historical, and literary research,” Chan said. When the map is complete, she added, “you’ll see how historical research can be implemented and presented in a very practical way for people to look at, interact with, and enjoy.”

For example, viewers will be able to search for the Chin family’s former farm on El Camino and click through photos of their family and the nursery. George Chin’s personal narrative about his ancestors will supplement archival documents, further chronicling their experience and impact on the industry.

A legacy of remembrance

A condominium complex now stands on the former site of the Chin family’s nursery, and development has likewise taken the place of other flower farms. But project leaders hope the Forgotten Flowers project will help the stories of the farmers and their impact on the region live on.

“Our vision for this project extends beyond collecting oral histories,” Chin said. “My goal is to build meaningful connections and collaborations across communities and generations – at Stanford, in San Francisco, and across borders to China. We’ve been in conversation with museum curators in Doumen and Zhuhai, China, where many of these flower growers originally came from, to explore the creation of an overseas Chinese history exhibit that would bring together the histories of these families on both sides of the Pacific.”

The book, Sojourners to Joke Sings: Tales of Chinatown & Beyond, is available for purchase:

PURCHASE BOOK

NOTE: For each book purchased through this link, $15.00 will be donated from the proceeds to the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP). Thank you for your support!

Chef Chu’s is located in Los Altos on December 11, 2025. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)

The following are excerpts from 12/19/25 KQED California Foodways:

By Lisa Morehouse, Will Hewlett

When the restaurant opened in 1970, it was a small family business, and the area around it was a relatively sleepy suburb. Now, it’s at the heart of Silicon Valley — but they don’t deliver, and there’s no online ordering.

Still, Chef Chu’s is an institution. It’s been visited by luminaries in entertainment, politics and business. Throughout all of the change in the last 55 years, Chef Chu’s has adapted and held on, and remained true to its identity as a family business.

[...]

Even early on a weeknight, the lobby at Chef Chu’s was bustling. One whole wall is a glass window, looking into the kitchen where 82-year-old Chef Lawrence Chu and his cooks work. At the bar, a staff member took phone orders, and waiters in crisp white shirts and bow ties moved efficiently from room to room.

As we waited for our table we checked out a long wall of celebrity photos including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev.

[...]

His oldest son, Larry, and the restaurant’s general manager, was born in 1973, a few years after the restaurant opened.

[...]

Many Silicon Valley pioneers became Chef Chu’s regulars. “Mr. Tramiel was the founder of Atari, Chuck Geshke who founded Adobe, Gordon Moore, Paul Allen, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs — when he was just a kid — all these people from Silicon Valley ate at Chef Chu’s,” Larry remembered.

[...]

And the youngest of the kids, Jon Chu, tried his luck as a Hollywood director. Yeah, Jon M. Chu — the director of Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights and the Wicked movies.

For more of the story:  Read the full 12/19/25 KQED California Foodways article.

CHCP's Student Docent Cultural Ambassador Program (SDCAP) members shared Chinese winter solstice traditions and children's holiday crafts (consisting of Origami Fan, Xmas Tree, Santa, and Elf ornaments) at the Chinese American Historical Museum (CAHM) for History Park's Children's Heritage Holiday event on December 13, 2025.

The following is an excerpt from 11/08/25 Ding Ding TV:

By Gerrye Wong, Ding Ding TV Columnist and CHCP Co-Founder/Trustee

After a year of hard work, CHCP Co-President Kimberly Lee knew the remedy to end the year on a happy relaxed note. She invited both the Board of Directors, Trustees, and Advisory Board Members to come to an in-person holiday brunch at her lovely home in Los Altos Hills. Forty of her dedicated team came to end the year with a celebration of the achievements and progress that CHCP had in 2025. But they all agreed it was fun not to talk “business” and just enjoy the merriment of the season with fellow CHCP brothers and sisters.

Kimberly welcomed everyone to her beautiful fun home for entertaining, both inside and outside. Co-VP Ingrid Lai with photographer/husband Bill Shu gathered all into Kimberly’s family room to play the ever traditional 'Steal the Present' gift exchange game of chance. Lots of laughs ensued as each gift was opened which so disappointed the receiver, he or she began begging people to rescue them and steal the unsuitable winning object. During a serious moment, I spoke as Co-Founder of the organization and thanked everyone being here for their dedication to the fine cause CHCP stands for. Since 1987 its goal was to preserve and present Chinese American history through its Ng Shing Gung Chinese American Historical Museum experience. I gifted Co-President Kimberly Lee and past President Dave Yick with a framed watercolor print of them standing before the historical museum in History Park San Jose.

2025 activities of CHCP included sponsoring school tours for children from low income school areas of the Chinese American museum as well as other museums on the premises, presenting a Lunar New Year Festival in the park, and presenting a Speakers Series with guest lecturers and authors of Asian American books and movies. An exhibit and curriculum kit highlighting Chinese American veterans of World War II was also produced to be distributed to schools for history lessons.

Anyone interested in joining this fun yet hard working group, can look up details on website chcp.org. Be a part of making history by restoring the history of Chinese Americans in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area and bringing its importance for future generations who will carry on the CHCP tradition of giving and serving.

The Monkey King Rises at San Francisco Opera

Bay Area Chinese Heritage Shines
November 30, 2025

By Samantha Lee, CHCP Member

Honoring Chinese Legends, Diaspora, and Artistry

In a historic moment for Bay Area arts and the Chinese American community, members of the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP) joined a sold-out audience at San Francisco’s War Memorial Opera House for the world premiere of The Monkey King, a new opera composed by Huang Ruo with a libretto by David Henry Hwang. This landmark event brought the mythic journey of Sun Wukong (Journey to the West) into a new era and to new audiences, forging connections between tradition, innovation, and intergenerational storytelling.

Setting the Stage for Anticipation and Representation

Even before the curtain rose, guests filled the grand lobby to view works by local artists, while families shared their own Monkey King stories—some told in Mandarin, others in English, Cantonese, or Toisanese. Grandparents pointed out program highlights to grandchildren. Teenagers discussed Asian and Asian American talent taking center stage at an American opera house. Audience anticipation for the costumes, projections, and puppetry was also palpable. Throughout the production’s run, SF Opera expanded its outreach through school workshops, public markets, and a livestream, extending representation beyond traditional opera-goers into the city’s neighborhoods.

A Brief Synopsis of the Story

Guanyin and Bodhisattvas chant Buddhist sutras as they watch over the story of Monkey, who has been imprisoned beneath the Five-Element Mountain for five centuries, yearning for freedom and redemption. He escapes by bursting from the stone and leads a tribe of embattled monkeys, becoming their leader through courage and resourcefulness, symbolizing the search for community and identity. Monkey seeks enlightenment under Master Subhuti, earning the name Sun Wukong and mastering the 72 Transformations, but his teacher warns that power alone is insufficient. His quest for a weapon takes him to the Dragon Palace, where he acquires a magical staff, causing chaos and demonstrating the consequences of his actions. Heaven’s gods, corrupted and complacent, attempt to tame Monkey with flattery and a hollow title, but he rebels upon seeing the suffering of Heavenly Horses, drawing heaven’s wrath. Furious at rejection and craving acceptance, Monkey defies heaven by leading his people and eating the Queen Mother’s peaches of immortality. 

Sun Wukong, proclaimed as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, leads a celestial rebellion against Heaven's armies, demonstrating wit and resilience in battles filled with music, puppetry, and martial arts. Captured and subjected to fiery trials, he emerges more powerful. He destroys the heavenly forces, only to realize through Buddha’s challenge that true strength lies in humility, care, and connection rather than power. Ultimately, guided by Guanyin's compassion and his own introspection, Monkey is freed from his pride and prison, embarking on a journey of peace, caring, and service to all beings.

Art as a Bridge

Throughout the performance, audience members—elders, parents, students—were moved by the opera’s interweaving of music, martial arts, humor, and spirituality. Children laughed at Monkey’s mischief, adults reflected on the lessons of pride and humility, and all felt pride seeing a Bay Area stage animated by the full richness of Chinese myth and Asian American artistry.

The production’s creative leadership and cast, which were majority Asian and Asian American, were themselves a landmark for representation. The bilingual storytelling and accessibility efforts ensured that audiences of all backgrounds could claim a place in the opera’s magic and meaning.

CHCP recognizes The Monkey King not only as an artistic achievement, but as a living bridge—linking Chinese legend to contemporary identity, connecting generations, and celebrating the ongoing evolution of heritage in the Bay Area. Special thanks to all the CHCP members who attended, brought family, shared stories, and supported cultural arts.

“To see Sun Wukong’s journey on stage was more than entertainment—it was a reconnection. We carry these stories forward, not just for heritage’s sake, but for pride, healing, and hope.”

For more of CHCP’s ongoing programming, visit chcp.org or follow @CHCPorg on Instagram and Facebook.

CHCP proudly promotes, educates, and preserves Chinese and Chinese American history in Santa Clara County and beyond.